Museum of Science
The Bloomberg Public Science Common
Project
The Bloomberg Public Science Common
Client
Museum of Science
Location
Cambridge, MA
Completion
2026
Size
10,000 GSF
Certification
Tracking LEED Platinum
Category
Civic Realm, Renovations + Additions, Featured Projects
The new Public Science Common, built within the current footprint of the Museum, will replace the existing Cahners Theater with a 10,000-square-foot, flexible, multimedia venue accommodating up to 700 people and opening to 270-degree views of the Charles River through three walls of glass. Flexible systems and technology allow for multiple programming in a single space, giving the Museum a new capacity to serve different audiences quickly and creatively and explore multiple topics.
Accompanying renovations to the Museum will include upgrades to improve accessibility and the Museum’s ability to meet its ambitious goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2035. The Museum anticipates construction on the Public Science Common convening space will commence in 2024, with a planned completion date in 2026.
The Public Science Common will allow us to lead the world in an exciting new direction for engaging the public with science. [The space] will be common ground for everyone interested in science and technology. It will be a place for people to bring their ideas and hopes, questions, and doubts. It will be a place where industry, academia, government, and the public can think out loud and solve problems together.
Tim Ritchie, President, Museum of Science
Design Process
Design team participates in the Museum’s annual Pi Day celebration
Virtual reality used as a tool to visualize potential future spaces
Working group meetings engage stakeholders to ensure all voices are heard
Meetings with different program groups helped the design best meet the needs of all museum users
Testing seating options to ensure comfort and durability
We have been captivated by this opportunity to open up the Museum to its place in the city (both cities) and to create a uniquely public stage that fosters participation – participation by visitors and by the Museum’s collaborating community partners – sparking imaginations with a flexible, inspiring and immersive environment connected to the public realm beyond. We look forward to learning together from the Museum’s innovative programming experimentation within the Bloomberg Public Science Common.
Cliff Gayley, Principal, William Rawn Associates
Press + Recognition
The Museum of Science’s Sustainability Goals:
The renovated Public Science Forum will create a more energy efficient building in multiple ways in support of Cambridge’s net zero action plan and will include steps to a carbon-neutral MOS. The design includes high-efficiency, all-electric infrastructure, super-insulated roofs with PV array, and a new substation for reliable transition to an all-electric infrastructure. William Rawn Associates completed a Sustainability Master Plan in March 2024, providing a roadmap for the Museum to achieve operational carbon neutrality by 2035.
Other Associated Projects at the Museum
Life in the Forests (under construction)
Building Accessibility Upgrades